Scotten Consulting founder Ali Scotten was interviewed by The Great Middle East about the future U.S. role in the region.

There is increasing talk about US strategic interests shifting towards the South-East Asia region, and the Middle East—particularly the Gulf region—becoming a lower priority for Washington. There are also disagreements and a certain coldness in the relations between the US and its allies in the Gulf. Do you think there is actually a trend toward shifting US interests, or do the Gulf countries have no reason to be concerned?

Since 2012, the Obama administration’s strategic objective has been to “pivot” America’s primary focus away from the Middle East and toward the Asia Pacific region. This decision was borne out of the realization that East Asia will eventually become the center of gravity for global geopolitics, and that China is poised to emerge as the U.S.’s only peer rival.

The pivot would be a great deal further along had the U.S. not been bogged down in the Middle East by the mass upheaval unleashed by the George W. Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, from the American perspective, a number of factors necessitating its heavy regional presence may no longer exist in the decades to come…

Click here to read the full interview.